Dearly Beloved
by Raye of the Sunshine
Summary: SoKai. RokuNami. A piece for "Two Sides." There are wedding bells today, and it's time for a confession. 1500 words.


Today's the day! I'm posting my story that I wrote for "Two Sides," a RokuNami and SoKai fan magazine run by me and a friend! I'm so happy to be able to share this with everyone after such a long time. You might recognize the setting from my RokuNami week story "Pillow Talk." This is the origin of that little universe. More in the author's note below.

Disclaimer: I own neither _Kingdom Hearts_ nor _Final Fantasy XIV_, upon which I based the mmorpg "Kingdom Hearts" in this story.

* * *

Sora's knee bounced. He was nervous and he knew it—he'd get up and pace a little if it didn't feel stupid. So he made Roxas do it instead. Surprisingly, it felt less ridiculous to move his character around than to actually get up and move himself.

He was getting married today.

As soon as that thought actually hit him, he turned red and dropped the controller. "I can't do this Riku," he said and put his head in his hands. Roxas paused and crossed his arms after a moment.

Riku had his character, Axel, pat Roxas's shoulder. "_Relax_, Sora, it's just a game. And Kairi likes you. You'll be _fine_."

Sora was pretty sure that he would feel comforted if his best friend were sitting with him, not at home at his computer. "Right. Fake wedding. Yep." Except that he was totally using this opportunity to tell Kairi how much he loved her. What if Riku was wrong, and she didn't feel the same?

"C'mon Sora, don't overthink this. You don't have to actually tell her how you feel if you don't feel ready." The concern in Riku's voice was crystal clear. "But I don't think you're going to find a better opportunity."

"I know, I know…" Sora sighed, watching more people gather around the temple weddings were held in. "I'll do it. It's just, you know, we've known each other forever—"

"No no no, don't get started," Riku laughed, cutting him off. "Let's just go in there and have fun, okay?"

"Yeah, let's go."

* * *

"I knew this would look beautiful on you."

Naminé smiled at the porcelain girl who had assisted her and Roxas's journey to marriage. Elaine was one of the people who ran the temple and helped brides and grooms choose their wedding clothes. None of her family were blessed with their own celestial being, and Naminé wondered what that was like.

She had been born with the celestial being named Kairi. It wasn't _always_ easy to let Kairi take control—especially when she did _not_ want to walk into fire for the nth time—but Kairi knew what she was doing, and she never had permanent damage. It was a learning experience for the both of them, when she first started out.

When she first met Roxas.

"Do you believe in love at first sight, Elaine?" she asked, gazing at the beautiful handmaiden with long black hair, wondering if she had met her own Roxas.

"Absolutely!" Elaine motioned joyfully, inspecting Naminé's wedding dress again. "You and Roxas will be perfect together!"

Naminé let out a dreamy sigh. "I hope so," she whispered. Because for her, it had indeed been love at first sight. He was starting out, just the same as her, a handsome archer who needed someone to watch his back. He had since mastered archery and had taken up the dual-wielding ninja class, while she continued to protect and heal him with white magic. They were a perfect team, and now they were getting married.

Now if only Kairi and Sora would get to the point. She and Roxas had felt for a while that their celestial beings were in love. Sora and Kairi would write to one another the most beautiful words, although they tried playing them off as hers and Roxas's; why, just the other day, Sora had written an utterly _devastating_ declaration of love when Roxas had saved her life in a dungeon again. While of course she knew that Roxas meant those words too, she _also_ knew that Sora was speaking from some sort of personal experience when he said, _I don't know what I'd do without you; I had to wait for you to wake up and it was the worst feeling of my life!_

_But I heard you, Sora. I heard you, and your voice brought me back._

How could those two not know how desperately in love they were? Naminé wished she knew what had happened before, but they never spoke of it when she and Roxas were around. Not even Axel knew from Riku.

The bells rung, signaling that it was time for the ceremony to begin. Her heart fluttered and she went to the door, Elaine trailing along behind her. "May the gods bless you," Elaine said, touching Naminé's hand and handing her the bouquet. "And may you be happy, always."

* * *

Roxas barely paid any attention to the words being said by the man at the altar. He had eyes only for his bride. His angelic, smiling bride whose hands were in his.

Sora was anxious, he could tell. The celestial kept moving him around before the start of the ceremony—Roxas was feeling completely calm, oddly enough. He and Naminé were _made_ for each other; nothing else could explain the instant attraction and trust they felt, which had grown into love.

He knew he was in love with her when she saved him from the darkness. Naminé has done it more than once, but that time was special. He was cornered, the heartless closing in and trying to steal his keyblade—the small, precious crystal that connected him to his celestial—when she burst through with bright, beaming Holy spells.

Roxas had wanted to kiss her in that moment.

"Naminé," he whispered when the officiant paused in prayer to the gods, "I love you. My heart, my keyblade is yours."

"Oh, Roxas," Naminé breathed, fingering the crystal attached to his wrist beneath his sleeve. It was an incredible show of trust, and he knew she would appreciate it for its true worth. "I knew from the moment I met you that you had mine."

He smiled at her and was about to continue, when words appeared next to him.

_Kairi,_ it began, and the two of them look at each other in anticipation. Was this going to be what they both hoped for?

_Kairi, you're my best friend. You mean the world to me. We've been playing this game for a while now, and it's something I look forward to every day. Not just because it's fun or that Roxas is the best ninja ever, but because we can play together._

_I like playing with you. I like the teamwork we have. But it's not just here, in Kingdom Hearts. It's in the classroom, in group projects, in orchestra. _

_I… I like you, Kairi. I really, really like you. Do you think we could get married for real someday?_

* * *

Kairi's heart was in her throat. Had… had he really…? _Yes! _her heart squealed. _Yes! He loves me! Riku was right!_

She wanted to jump up and down—she wanted to twirl around—she wanted to scream with joy! But her roommate would hear her, so she settled for kicking her legs and letting out a tiny squeal.

"Sora likes me back!" And suddenly her heartbeat jumped back into motion, thudding what felt like a million miles a minute. "Sora… he—" _He asked me to marry him! _

Part of her was annoyed that he had taken the rug out from under her. This was her idea, after all, and she wanted to confess. Kairi had it all planned out. She asked him because there were benefits for married players, which could help make things a little easier while they played the game. She also wanted to see what it was like to utilize what the game had to offer, citing the pretty clothes and the beautiful temple decorated with three interlocking rings. All good reasons, of course, but not her true motives whatsoever. He had agreed enthusiastically, which she thought was a good sign. During the ceremony, she would confess her feelings. Kairi wanted the courage Naminé gave her when she confessed.

But he did it first! What could she do but to reply? Her hands shook as she typed back, smiling blissfully.

_Sora! I always knew we were a good team, and that hasn't changed since we entered uni. I made you a lucky charm so that I'd always be with you, and it makes me so happy that you carry a part of me wherever you go._

_I really like you too. Your voice brought me home from that horrible fever. You are home. Someday, I want to share the paopu fruit with you. And yes, someday… let's have a wedding for us._

_Yes, Sora, I'll marry you!_

* * *

The next morning, Kairi raced out the front doors of the building their morning classes were in and threw her arms around Sora.

_Naminé threw her arms around Roxas, and smiles blossomed on their faces. Roxas dipped his head so his lips would meet hers._

_Their keyblades shone brightly, glowing as hearts connected and love flourished. The pair of them were married, and their celestials would be someday too. All around them, their friends applauded and cheered, and bells rang._

"Hello husband," Kairi whispered, eyes sparkling with joy.

"Hello wife," Sora replied, wrapping her in an embrace. Maybe it was silly, but they didn't care.

Life was perfect.

* * *

I hope you enjoyed this short piece! The zine's limitations meant some information has to be cut out, like about the handmaiden and background for the game in general. I'm still hoping to write the rest of this story (as in, how Sora and friends started the game, Roxas and Namine's adventures in the game, etc), but that's a major project for a different time.

The inspiration for this story comes from the beautiful wedding ceremony in FFXIV. I first went through that ceremony in January 2018, and it has stuck with me ever since then. I've done it a couple more times, and even got to do the anniversary event once, and I still feel completely in love with it. Even though the person I did that with turned out to be mentally/emotionally abusive, the memories from that first wedding especially are near and dear to my heart. It wasn't difficult to decide that RokuNami would be SoKai's player characters, but with Riku I had more of a dilemma. Axel came easily enough, because he's Roxas's best friend, although you might say that Replica Riku would've been a better choice for Riku specifically. More than likely, Repliku is an alt of Riku's. Or who knows? He could be a brother in the real world. Haven't decided on that yet.

The relationship between player and character is inspired by _Bravely Default_ and _Wreck-it Ralph_. The player controlling the Crystal Crew is always part of the game, and I've seen that person referred to as a "celestial." In fact, this person is what's keeping Tiz alive in the first game. The WIR part is that the characters are capable of moving about on their own when no one is looking. Players will log into the game to find their characters aren't always where they left them; it's a part of the game and is played up to be something fun. Frustrating at times? No doubt! But that's just part of the game!

Did you spot the Lucky Emblem? There's one in here!

PhoenixDowner was kind enough to write a prequel short about the circumstances of Kairi's hospital stay. It's called "Your Voice" and is located here and on ao3.

I have so many other thoughts about this piece and the world I accidentally created (because it was purely on accident; I didn't know how I was going to use both couples equally for my piece), but I'm going to call it quits here. See you all around!


End file.
